While I was in college, I watched the Food Network religiously. I always loved Paula Deen but at the end of my junior year I wanted to start eating healthier (Sorority houses are not good for the waistline!) and discovered one of my favorite Food Network chefs, Ellie Krieger. She is a registered dietitian specializing in nutrition and health communications and penned one of my favorite cookbooks, The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life.

The following recipe is my favorite healthy dip from Ellie’s cookbook. The dip is not only a great source of fiber and protein, but it’s also super simple to make.  One serving size consists of ¼ cup of hummus and 4 pita chips, which is perfect for a mid-afternoon snack.  Each serving has 195 calories, 12G fat, 6G protein, 18G carbohydrates and 3.5G fiber.  This would be a great dip to make at upcoming Super Bowl parties and nobody will even suspect they are getting some nutrition into their systems while watching the game!

Ingredients

2 cups shelled edamame, cooked according to package directions

1 cup silken tofu, briefly drained of excess liquid

½  teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

3 cloves garlic

¼  cup olive oil

1/3 cup lemon juice, plus more, to taste

1 ½  teaspoons cumin, plus more, for garnish

Directions

Set 1 tablespoon of edamame aside for a garnish. Place the rest of the edamame, tofu, salt, garlic, oil, lemon juice, and 1 ½ teaspoons cumin in the bowl of a food processor and process until very smooth – about 2 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper, plus more lemon juice, if desired. Remove to a serving bowl and garnish with reserved edamame, and some cumin.

Print the recipe card here!

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With the New Year coming up there are a lot of ladies trying to watch their figures.  I am a firm believer in eating whatever you want in moderation, but I tried a new recipe yesterday in order to curb my constant cravings for chips.

I read an interview recently with Kristin Bell in Women’s Health and she said that she loved to snack on kale chips.  I knew the second I read the recipe that I had to try it out.  Kale is considered to be a highly nutritious vegetable with powerful antioxidant properties and is also very high in beta-carotene, vitamin K and vitamin C.  As someone who loves chips and also tries to eat as healthy as possible (occasional cupcakes and cookies are a must) this sounded like the perfect recipe for me!

All you have to do is tear the kale leaves away from the stem and tear them into chip like pieces.  Drizzle on a little olive oil, sprinkle them with sea salt (easy on the salt though because you don’t want to ingest too much sodium) and pop them in a 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

These chips are a great tasting but healthy snack that won’t leave you thinking – Why did I just eat a whole bag of Cheetos?!

What are your favorite quick and healthy recipes?

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